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Altitude seems to suit Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus).
He won Saturday in Longmont – elevation 4,979 feet – at day one of Altitude Adjustment Cross, a primer of sorts for cyclocross national championships which rolls out next week in nearby Boulder. That’s his second consecutive win during three outings in Colorado this season. He won the Boulder Cup in October and claimed a come-from-behind second place at the Colorado Cross Classic.
Race action
The Longmont race began under light snow which supplemented the inches of white that had fallen earlier in the day. Yannick Eckmann took the holeshot. His California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized teammate Logan Owen followed with Powers third wheel and junior Spencer Petrov (Sophisticated Living p/b Bob’s Red Mill) fourth as the field exited the pavement and turned onto turf.
Cal Giant’s U23 duo controlled the race for two laps. They’ve both enjoyed successful seasons to date versus more senior American elite riders, finishing pretty regularly in the top five or ten against guys like Powers and Tim Johnson and Ryan Trebon of Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com.
Jeremy Powers on the way to a 2013 Boulder Cup win
On Saturday they once again demonstrated their strength. But Powers’ consistency on the increasingly glacial course with multiple off-camber sections helped him move from third on course into a lead he held until the end.
As the second lap concluded Eckmann went down near the finish line. Powers took the opportunity to advance into second position. At the head of the race, Owen gained on Powers but his gap evaporated when he crashed in a corner.
“I had a good gap on him for a while,” Owen later said. “I was holding it, holding it. Once he got back up there he definitely had the better legs. I just made a mistake and all of a sudden he is gone and I can’t close it down.”
While Powers worked on building distance to Owen, Raleigh-Clement’s Jamey Driscoll gradually moved up from tenth at the first turn to fifth, riding near teammate Allen Krughoff. In the second half of the race Driscoll pulled into third and finished there just 15 seconds behind Owen. Krughoff came in fourth just after Driscoll. Eckmann placed fifth.
Pete Webber (Boulder Cycle Sport) rode well and finished sixth. The current Washington state elite champion, Kevin Bradford-Parish, started fast and maintained a steady pace to net seventh.
Looking ahead to national championships
Yannick Eckmann and Logan Owen (first and second) are both national champions
For the youngest juniors in the race, Petrov and Gage Hecht (Team Specialized Racing), Saturday presented an opportunity to compare themselves ahead of the championship 15 – 16 race this coming Friday. Hecht finished tenth. While Petrov drifted back in the second half of the race and came in 32nd that’s an anomaly of sorts given his strong season; Friday still promises an exciting contest between the two.
The U23 contest for stars and stripes at Valmont Bike Park should prove a nail-biter as well. Speaking about the forthcoming battle between the Cal Giant strongmen, Owen said on Saturday, “It’s going to be fun and it’s cool to see that the U23’s are so strong, being able to stay with the big guys. I think it will be a close race.”
And when it comes to the big guys’ national championship showdown next Sunday, Powers is looking hard to beat at Valmont Bike Park.
For 2014 cyclocross nationals, Valmont’s 5280 runup will be the “Bonk Breaker Heart Breaker”
Read on for more local Colorado riders to watch when the cyclocross national championships comes to Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park in less than one week. This collection expands on the elite riders mentioned in the Elevation Outdoors guide to top talents and local heroes.
Men
In addition to Denver’s Danny Summerhill (K-Edge/Felt), Boulder resident Allen Krughoff (Raleigh-Clement) can contest for one of the five podium slots.
Allen Krughoff
Krughoff became the new Colorado state champion two weeks ago. The state championship course in Castle Rock suited riders with all-around skills; the nationals course should as well, although it will run faster if it’s entirely dry. The Raleigh-Clement rider placed seventh at October’s Boulder Cup which took place in Valmont.
Also a Boulderite, Mitch Hoke (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) finished eighth at the 2013 Boulder Cup. Hoke’s ‘cross schedule this season hasn’t been as packed at Krughoff’s. But this tough and popular guy can’t be overlooked; in December he raced and finished in Bend’s sub-freezing temperatures and snow at the Deschutes Brewery Cup and he’ll benefit from a sizeable cheering section.
Steven Stefko was a regular solid performer at local 2013 elite races
Additional strong local riders in the men’s elite field include Brady Kappius (Clif Bar) – watch for his fast start as well as Tim Allen’s (Feedback Sports), Evol Foods’ Spencer Powlison and Ken Benesh, and Chris Case (Boulder Cycle Sport). Based on registration at this time it appears Case’s teammate Pete Webber is dedicating his nationals efforts to the masters 40 – 44 race.
Fort Collins will be represented by First City Cycling Team’s Steven Stefko. Jake Wells (Stan’s NoTubes) and Troy Wells (Clif Bar) should put in good rides too.
Of special note is John Klish (Feedback Sports) from Grand Junction. Klish is deaf and this year won cycling gold in the Deaflympics.
Women
The Elevation Outdoors piece left out Luna Pro Team’s Georgia Gould because she was on a sabbatical from cyclocross racing.
Georgia Gould, the 2013 Colorado state cyclocross champion
But she surfaced to compete for the first time in three months at December’s state championships and won over a field including Meredith Miller (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) and Nicole Duke (Marin/Spy). She’s registered for this weekend’s two-day Altitude Adjustment ‘Cross event as well as nationals.
Gould’s freshness could supply a significant advantage; she’ll need it to overcome the disadvantage of a near-back-row starting position and the momentum of top-ranked in the world Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective). Gould has won at Valmont before, in the 2012 Boulder Cup.
Duke typically benefits from a more technical course. But she can pull out something special even when she doesn’t expect it. That includes third place in cyclocross nationals last year after a challenging up-and-down season which included a team change in November. Sketchy conditions at Valmont would highlight her bike handling skills and fearlessness.
Judy Freeman looks back for Kristin Weber in the final lap of the Feedback Cup
Boulder’s Kristin Weber (Boulder Cycle Sport) will thrive if the course is messy. A dry, sunny day will stoke Raleigh-Clement’s Rebecca Gross. Crankbrothers Race Club rider Judy Freeman should be a podium threat as well as potentially teammate Chloe Woodruff; the latter isn’t listed as registered but indicated in October that she planned to race nationals. Also look for Denver resident Rebecca Blatt (Van Dessel) and Team Kappius’ Karen Hogan, who at 48 years-old can leave most of the field struggling behind her.
At least two Colorado juniors are entered in the women’s elite race: Laurel Rathbun (Exergy Twenty16) and Ksenia Lepikhina (Tokyo Joe’s).
Judy Freeman and Jessica Cutler (r to l)
Cyclocross nationals in Boulder will bring out nearly every local rider who races ‘cross. Who’s likely to do well? Check out a few in a story I wrote for Elevation Outdoors.
Due to space limitations, that story mentions only some of the many talented Front Range riders. A subsequent post will include more stand-outs to keep on your radar.
Allen Krughoff and Gage Hecht went 1-2 in the 2013 Colorado state cyclocross championship
This year’s elite men’s Colorado state cyclocross championship satisfied on so many levels.
Allen Krughoff (Raleigh Clement) stood on the top of the podium after two years of coming close.
Ten percent of the starters were juniors. Among them, Gage Hecht (Team Specialized Racing) put up a fight for first that rivaled the effort of more experienced elite American racers in the sport of cyclocross.
Brady Kappius (Clif Bar) showed once again he’s one of the fastest starters in the sport. Robin Eckmann (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) emptied himself to make it three titles in a row for his family with two-time winner and brother Yannick absent. Colombian and Colorado Springs area resident Fernando Riveros, a mountain biker riding for sponsor Rotor without any points for call-up, picked off 60 riders to finish in fourth. Pete Webber (Boulder Cycle Sport) proved again a guy doesn’t have to be 25 to get great results and he’s a threat for upcoming nationals. Riders who had just completed the single speed race went at it again: Colby Pearce (Trek), Nic Handy (Alpha Bicycle Co.), and Drew Christopher (Primal-McDonald Audi), among others.
Elite men’s 2013 Colorado state cyclocross podium
To a man from age 15 to 50 the pack raced with hearts in overdrive, whether it was for the win, to participate in one of the biggest days of Colorado cyclocross racing, or to find their best.
And now Krughoff is best in the state. There’s a lot to read into that label for this rider who has raced a heavy UCI ‘cross schedule the last two years with more top ten’s per race this year than last. After seasons of NRC road racing, Krughoff dedicated his efforts to cyclocross in 2011. Prior to that time he tackled primarily local ‘cross races.
Achieving top ten’s versus the best riders in the country is no small feat. The next step, to reach top five or the podium against that kind of competition, has many days got to feel like a monumental task. Hanging in there requires more than great legs. It demands an inner reservoir of faith in one’s potential. As he stood on the podium Sunday and brushed his hands up and down the champion’s vest on his torso, Krughoff topped up that critical resource.
Fifteen year-old Gage Hecht may have come second best on Sunday, but like junior Katie Clouse in the elite women’s contest, he stole the show. Hecht wasn’t content to just ride on Krughoff’s wheel for the first half of the race. The junior won the holeshot. He put in the effort to move to the front. He mastered the long run-up that challenged nearly every contender.
“Gage was amazing. That’s the future of Colorado cyclocross if not the country,” the new state champion said after the race. “Gage put time into me on the run-up. I don’t know what it was but I just couldn’t get good footing or something. He had it figured out.” On the run-up and the muddy false flat that followed, Hecht flew.
The medals and championship jerseys and vests that belong to Hecht could probably fill a walk-in closet. He’s a triple road-discipline national champion. In January he’ll aim for his fifth straight national cyclocross title. Through all that success, which has to generate at least some pressure of expectation, he’s always seems happy.
When Krughoff dropped him he didn’t get frustrated. “I was happy where I was,” Hecht said post-race. “Not like I was happy about it but I wasn’t mad that he did it. I was fully expecting somebody to do something like that in that position.
“But it was awesome,” Hecht added. Awesome to take on a challenge. Awesome, to be present.
Race Action
After Hecht captured the holeshot, Kappius swept past the junior in the space of a few feet and took the next turn first. Right behind Hecht were Krughoff and some of the fastest men of the local season: Feedback Sports’ Tim Allen, Spencer Powlison (Evol Foods), Chris Case (Boulder Cycle Sport), Eckmann in eighth position, and Chris Baddick (Gear Movement) nearby.
Robin Eckmann driving to make up ground at state championships
Lap one delivered a lot of action at the front. Kappius led for about half a lap then Allen took the helm briefly until Krughoff became captain in the muddy west side of the course to see who would join his crew. Hecht signed on and the two opened a gap by the second lap.
Allen and Powlison chased together for a couple of turns around the circuit. Behind them a second chase group was forming with Case, Kappius, Baddick, and Eckmann.
The Cal Giant rider surged to the front of his group which had dropped Kappius, who eventually exited the race, as well as Baddick and picked up Webber and his teammate Brandon Dwight. Behind them Riveros had flashed by most of the field and by mid-race rode within shouting distance of the Boulder Cycle Sport boys. In one more lap he would pass them on his way to fourth place.
As the top ten on course shifted Krughoff and Hecht increased their lead to over thirty seconds. Hecht propelled himself to the front on the west side of the course at least once, and at least once it appeared his partner shut down his effort to move up. Then with about twenty minutes remaining in the race Krughoff set off on his own.
“I was just riding tempo the first half of the race and Gage was right there with me the whole time,” he said. “It’s almost like you feel bad but I had to put a dig in and try to drop him and I put a gap in and just held it off till the end.”
Hecht rode alone for the rest of the race and limited Eckmann’s best place to third, though the latter’s tweet suggests he dealt with a fair amount of trouble.
What a race. So many mistakes and misshaps but I never gave up fighting and always saw things from a positive way. Pulled out a 3rd place 🙂
— robine (@robineckmann) December 15, 2013
Powlison and Allen slipped back to finish seventh and ninth respectively. The Evol Foods rider had arrived feeling less than optimal. “I knew once I started warming up that it would be a bad day,” he later wrote.
Hector Fernando Riveros Paez finished fourth after starting in the last row
Riveros and Webber moved forward to claim the last top five places. Dwight and Baddick produced consistent rides for sixth and eighth. Case came in tenth.
Krughoff enjoyed his solo win, pointing to his kit’s team logo at the finish. Minutes later he praised the performance of his Raleigh machine and Clement PDX tires. “There were muddy sections and fast cornery sections and it was just dialed on rails all day…the TRP Spyre disc brakes were awesome.”
As was the victory. “I’ve been close in a handful of years. It’s great [to win],” he said. The new champion feels Sunday’s result provides “good momentum” going forward. Over the next few weeks he’ll be at home preparing for cyclocross nationals and thinking about what’s to come next year.
For full results from the Colorado state cyclocross championship men’s elite race, see the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado website.
Allen Krughoff, Colorado state cyclocross champion
Gallery (in progress)
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- A bunny hop is Tim Allen’s signature move
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- Pete Webber
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- Brady Kappius leads elite men’s field in lap 1
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- Allen Krughoff ready to pounce in lap 1
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- Chris Baddick finished 8th
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- Spencer Powlison, always determined
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- Gage Hecht
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- Ken Benesh crashed early and finished 13th
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- Maxx Chance on the long downhill
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- A happy and proud Donn Kellogg
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- Zane Godby, happy wrenching
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- for Allen Krughoff
Katie Clouse on Georgia Gould’s heels on the long run-up at 2013 Colorado state championships
[updated 12/24/2013]
They wanted to shake this rider’s hand. They wanted a photograph with her. Was this female bike racer Georgia Gould (LUNA Pro Team) coming off a three month break to win the Colorado elite cyclocross state championship, Meredith Miller (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) who is ranked third in USA Cycling’s Pro CX series, or last year’s Colorado champion Nicole Duke (Marin/Spy)?
Yes and no.
Certainly those three ladies received a lot of attention at the state championship on Sunday. Course workers halted sand raking to applaud Gould during her warm-up. She brought her funny self, joking before the start of the elite race and comparing the paleness of her out-of-competition legs against Miller’s burnished tan.
But it was a rising star who stole the show, a junior who led in the first lap, then rode second or third wheel to Gould and Miller for much of the race and only fell behind Duke in the last few minutes – twelve year-old Katie Clouse (Canyon Bicycles).
Katie Clouse, eyes up
Clouse regularly travels east from Park City, Utah to race her bike in Colorado where there’s more female competition. Her brother Evan, also a junior, competes in adult races too.
She’s a triple road-discipline national champion and cyclocross national champion. According to her father Ed Clouse, she gave up ski racing to focus full-time on cycling.
Earlier this season she nearly beat some of the best local elite riders on a very muddy, cold day. When asked how she felt about that she said the older girls didn’t intimidate her, adding, “It’s just racing.” Forty-five minutes later she started the category three race and won it.
The pros admired and respected Clouse’s performance on Sunday. After the race Duke recalled her thoughts as she closed in on the junior near the end of the race.
“I felt bad because on the last lap Katie Clouse was right ahead of me, and I think she’s such an amazing rider obviously, and I was like ‘Oh my God, I’m going to pass her in the last half of this lap. And I don’t want to pass her because she is doing so amazing.’” Duke did pass her but didn’t leave Clouse until she said, “Go girl!”
After finishing Clouse sat folded into a soft chair in the parking lot and talked about her race. She spoke softly, just five minutes after crossing the line, sliding off her bike, and crumpling like Fabian Cancellara after a Tour de France time trial victory.
“That was really hard,” she said, several times pausing for a long exhale. “I’m surprised I could do so well after yesterday. I felt really tired in the warm-up today. I had a good start. That was key for me.”
Judy Freeman ahead of Katie Clouse at the state championships
The day before the middle-schooler won the women’s junior 17-18 championship race.
Judy Freeman (Crankbrothers Race Club) spent part of Sunday’s race holding off Clouse. A dominant force in the second half of the local Colorado cyclocross season, Freeman finished third on Sunday behind second place Miller.
Commenting in a post-race note, Freeman wrote, “It’s cool seeing Katie out there. It’s impressive how fast she already is and will only be getting faster.”
Her speed right now is enough to leave more experienced riders wondering how to beat her. Miller congratulated Clouse on her ride and sixth place result after the race. As the Cal Giant rider rode away from their visit she joked about how it was a good time to retire from cycling.
Race action
The elite riders started uphill on the wide paved road bordering Rhyolite Park. The first turn came quickly onto turf and the narrower track which funneled the field into single file.
Last weekend’s winner at Boulder Reservoir, Kristen Peterson (Evol Foods), nailed the holeshot. Clouse had started in the second row and now tailed the Evol rider, followed by Freeman, Melissa Barker (GS Boulder / Studio 1 Dental), Rebecca Gross (Raleigh-Clement), Karen Hogan (Team Kappius) Laurel Rathbun (Exergy Twenty16), and the rest of the field in single file. Duke, Miller, and Gould – none of whom started in the first row – rode toward the back of the queue.
They descended and wound through turns on an open hillside, ascending, descending, then ascending again over a short run-up of railroad ties to the top of a ridge. Clouse took the lead there.
The course then dropped along a sweeping curve to the lower section where Freeman now piloted the front of the race. That muddier last half of the lap played over a sandpit, triple set of barriers, and turns on the side of a grassy hill before continuing onto pavement and the finishing straight.
Nicole Duke in the lower section of the course
“When we hit the corner before the sand, Katie [Clouse] and Judy [Freeman] were already in the sand,” Gross explained post-race. “It was an insane gap for a first lap.” Peterson was next on course with a gap to Gross, Barker, and about ten additional riders in a chase group.
“I had a rough start being at the back,” Duke said, “having to battle up like that – I haven’t had to do that in a long time. There was just nothing you could do in the beginning. You had to just sit where you were because it was kind of single track. The longer I sat there the further everyone else went. You get around people but there is only so much you can do where there is that much of a gap. I also just had a hard day, I wasn’t my best…”
The course continued on pavement and grass as a new lap began. Freeman shouldered her bike and tackled the long run-up first. Clouse charged along next with Gould, Duke, and Miller in the top ten.
Gould continued to move up through the field as if she’d been racing all season. “She came around me in one of those power sections in the mud and she was just strong,” Duke said. “When she passed me she was powering through that stuff.”
Meredith Miller in the Rhyolite Park sand pit
The Crankbrothers rider held the lead into lap three when she, Clouse, and Gould came together on the short run-up. Miller chased about five seconds behind in fourth. Duke, Hogan, and Rathbun formed the next group. Boulder Cycle Sport’s and soon to be 2013 Colorado Cross Cup winner Kristin Weber kept on in the following group with Peterson, Barker, and Gross.
Then Gould reminded everyone that despite pale legs, she could still win. With about two laps to go she drove hard at the front.
“I tried to get the best gap I could but didn’t have the legs to keep it,” Freeman later wrote. A crash delayed her and she fell back to fourth behind Clouse who now chased Miller, who chased the new leader, Gould.
Meanwhile Hogan showed what a 48 year-old rider could do as she raced in sixth position behind fifth on course Duke. In the final lap she and Freeman passed Clouse who, likely fatigued from holding wheels that carried Gould, Miller, and Freeman, slowed down.
Georgia Gould, the 2013 Colorado state cyclocross champion
As Clouse completed her final lap Gould won by eight seconds over Miller. Freeman claimed third about ninety seconds later. Duke, Hogan, and Clouse finished next in that order. According to one spectator, Hogan nipped by Clouse with 250 meters to go. Only half a second separated them on the line.
A little over three weeks remain before the showdowns at ‘cross nationals in Boulder. Miller mentioned she’s flying to Europe for World Cup racing in the meantime. Clouse intends to race the Altitude Adjustment event in Longmont a few days before nationals begin.
Coming to #AltituudeCross? Be ready to line up against @gouldgeorgia prepping for @BoulderCX14 Raacers from 11 states already committed
— AltitudeAdjustment (@AltitudeCross) December 15, 2013
ProVéloPassion has not checked with Gould to confirm her participation at nationals, but the above tweet and another source at Sunday’s race suggests she’ll be there.
Watch Miller meet Clouse and talk about the course, as well as with an interview with Clouse in this video.
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See a video of the race action.
Gallery (in progress)
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- Course workers applaud Georgia Gould during warm-up
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- First row, elite women’s field at CO state championships
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- Georgia Gould at the start: “I’m nervous.”
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- Karen Hogan finished sixth
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- Katie Clouse remounts
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- Meredith Miller solo near the finish
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- Meredith Miller
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- Georgia Gould smooth through the barriers
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- Junior Mina Anderberg won the 15-16 race on Saturday
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- Cyclocross advertising
2013 Junior men 17-18 Colorado state cyclocross champion, Brannan Fix
[updated 12/24/2013]
Brannan Fix (Boo Bicycles) and Gage Hecht (Team Specialized Racing) became the new Colorado state cyclocross champions today in the junior men 17-18 and 15-16 categories respectively. Both plan to race at nationals in Boulder this January.
Fix won by three seconds over Garrett Gerchar (Clif Bar Devo Cyclocross Team). Chris Key (Boulder Cycle Sport Devo p/b BJC) came in third. The new champion has been racing mainly on the UCI circuit over the past month and won the Colorado Cross Classic junior 17-18 race in October.
A regular in the local men’s elite/open races, Hecht also won in his category at the Colorado Cross Classic as well as the Boulder Cup. At today’s state championship event, Evan Clouse (Canyon Bicycles) from Utah placed second with Jack Tanner (Boulder Junior Cycling) third among the 15-16’s.
Check out scenes from both races which started two minutes apart and a post-race interview with the two champs in this video from Rhyolite Park in Castle Rock, Colorado.
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Also see video from the junior women’s 15 – 16 and 17 – 18 races.
Look at the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado’s website for full results from the day’s racing.
Spencer Powlison after 50 minutes at 7 degrees F
[updated 12/13/2013]
Snow is the perfect ground cover for the final race of the Cyclo-X series. It honors the memory of a man whose sacrifice has become a symbol for others’ achievement for the past three years of the series.
The overall winner of the Cyclo-X eight-race series in the men’s elite/open category receives the Chesaux Cup – a silver bowl dedicated to the memory of Matthieu Chesaux who passed away in a backcountry skiing accident five years ago. His fiancé at the time, Loni Sullivan, was present Saturday at Boulder Reservoir where Robin Eckmann, now the cup’s third guardian, embraced it with a kiss following the final 2013 Cyclo-X race.
According to Sullivan the memorial for Chesaux had to be a moveable one so it would mirror the lifestyle of the cyclist, skier, and outdoorsman it’s named after. Eckmann (California Giant Berry Farms / Specialized) will hold the cup until the next series winner claims it, as long as the memorial remains part of the Cyclo-X event.
On Saturday it seemed like Eckmann would ride away not only with the overall series and the cup but the day’s race as well. Then everything changed in an instant when he crashed with about three laps to go. Luckily for Eckmann, he returned to the bike on the snowy course and finished high enough to wrap up the series in first place overall.
Robin Eckmann
With Eckmann’s bad luck his good fortune, Spencer Powlison (Evol Foods) sped from second on course into the lead. He fought hard to keep it. Boulder Cycle Sport’s Chris Case rode just inches behind him and momentarily stole first on course in the final lap as the temperature dipped near zero degrees Fahrenheit.
“It’s very stressful to try and battle with Chris [Case] on the last lap because he’s just so fast, he’s so strong,” Powlison said before the podium ceremony. “Whenever I’m up against him it’s got to be 100%.”
When Powlison raised his hands toward the still hidden stars he celebrated his first elite cyclocross victory. The cup was Eckmann’s but in that moment Powlison shared something with Chesaux – the fullness of pleasure and emptiness of pain from testing his physical limits outdoors.
Race action
From the start it appeared the men’s elite field wasn’t taking many risks. Case, Powlison, and others tripoded around the first turn as well as the off-camber corner where many crashes occurred earlier in the day.
The announcer awarded the holeshot to Powlison. Right behind him were Case, Ken Benesh (Evol Foods), Eckmann, Brady Kappius (Clif Bar), Steve Stefko (First City), Pete Webber (Boulder Cycle Sport), and Joe Clemenzi (Sports Garage Cycling).
First turn in the men’s elite race at Cyclo-X Boulder Reservoir
Eckmann attached himself to Powlison’s wheel by lap two then got around the Evol rider and held first on course for about four laps. It looked like Eckmann could take the race; whenever Powlison narrowed the gap between them the Cal Giant rider would widen it again.
A handful of seconds behind them Case chased alone, just a few seconds in front of Kappius. Webber and Stefko stalked the leaders next as a pair.
With almost three laps remaining Powlison emerged at the head of the race. Eckmann, who was reported to have crashed, lost nearly ten seconds but held onto second briefly ahead of Case. Webber pulled into fourth on course and Stefko advanced to fifth.
Then Case delivered one of the fastest times in the next to last lap. He snuck up on Powlison and it became a neck-and-neck contest for first place between the two as Eckmann slid to fifth.
“I was really worried going into the last lap because Chris [Case] had come right back up with me,” Powlison said later. “I had a pretty major bobble over by the lifeguard house. He was right on my wheel. We were fighting…”
In the final lap Case swung around the Evol rider on wide pavement covered in packed, icy snow, but didn’t hold the lead for long. According to Powlison, Case’s wide line opened a chance to reclaim first and he took it, slipping past him on the inside. “…then I was just sprinting out of every corner to keep him from coming around me.”
Powlison crossed the finish line for his first elite win with a second to spare over Case. Frozen droplets formed a wreath around his open mouth.
Webber arrived six seconds later for third. Stefko came in fourth and Eckmann got fifth, high enough to win the series overall and fill his arms with the Chesaux Cup. Sixth place went to Kappius. Among other notable rides, Colby Pearce (Trek Cyclocross Collective) started slowly and then found his way through the field to finish ninth.
2013 Cyclo-X / Chesaux Cup final standings (l – r) Ken Benesh 4th, Spencer Powlison 2nd, Robin Eckmann 1st, Chris Case 3rd, Pete Webber 5th
For full results from Cyclo-X Boulder Reservoir see the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado’s website.
Find the series overall standings at Without Limits Productions.
Gallery
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- Ken Benesh pre-race stretching
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- Start arch final preparations
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- Men’s elite field negotiates crash corner
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- Colby Pearce
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- Spencer Powlison on front in lap two
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- Chris Case after the finish
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- Gage Hecht: “it’s good practice for nationals”
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- Ken Benesh Spyder man post-race
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- Cyclo-X final race Boulder Reservoir men’s elite podium (l – r) Steve Stefko 4th, Chris Case 2nd, Spencer Powlison 1st, Pete Webber 3rd, Robin Eckmann 5th
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- Evan Clouse’s Belgie helmet
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- Fat tire color at Boulder Reservoir
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- A day to grow icicles
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- Robin Eckmann and Spencer Powlison on a winter beach
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- Colby Pearce tries to sneak inside
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- Chris Case at Boulder Reservoir
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- Darron Cheek, Cross Propz on ice
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- Something’s gone awry when Bart is sideways
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- Brady Kappius skirting the boat house
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- S turn, Gage Hecht (right)
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- Spencer Powlison tripoding a corner
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- Toward the reservoir
Kristin Weber narrowly secures overall Cyclo-X series victory
Cyclo-X Boulder Reservoir women’s elite podium (l – r) Karen Hogan 2nd, Kristen Peterson 1st, Kristal Boni 3rd
Call it nutty at least. Super-skinny women lined up for a bike race on a gray morning when even bunny rabbits hunkered down in their dens.
To ward off frostbite in the three degree Fahrenheit weather they wore goggles, face masks, two layers of leg coverings and winter jackets, many unidentifiable except for their helmets, logoed outerwear, and the pitch of their voices.
Except for a few like Evol Foods’ Kristen Peterson. She wore two base layers and a skinsuit with tights. The only thing she did out of the ordinary for extra heat at Saturday’s Cyclo-X Boulder Reservoir event was to slip hand warmers inside her gloves.
Later she guessed she might run a little hotter than most of the others in the elite/open race. Possibly the empty course before Peterson acted as another log on the fire – that and a shot at her first elite category cyclocross win. She hustled after that prize from the moment the race ref signaled “Go,” capturing the holeshot and laying down tracks on snow ahead of the rest of the field.
Kristen Peterson en route to her first elite cyclocross win
One by one she peeled away the laps that stood between her and victory. She crossed the finish line first, somewhat stunned by her accomplishment, although two weeks prior she’d earned a second place in Westminster.
The ladies leading the Cyclo-X series had all shown up for the double points awarded at the series’ final test: Judy Freeman (Crankbrothers Race Club), winner of the last four Cyclo-X races, Kristin Weber (Boulder Cycle Sport), series leader coming into Saturday and recent Schoolyard Cross winner at the same venue, and several others who are always a threat such as Karen Hogan (Team Kappius), Kristal Boni (Rapid Racing), and Melissa Barker (GS Boulder / Studio 1 Dental).
Weber, twice just one step away from becoming a cyclocross world champion, arrived feeling like the underdog. Freeman’s string of wins in the series and recent domination of elite ‘cross races on the Front Range made her a favorite to win at the reservoir or place high enough to claim the series overall.
But a crash in front of Freeman early on left her extracting a foot from another rider’s spokes and subsequently near the back of the field. That “little twist of luck” as Weber called it, together with her strong performance in the chase group behind Peterson, helped the Boulder Cycle Sport lady take the series overall by just half a point over Freeman.
At the finish line Peterson lingered to share thoughts on her win. “It’s great. Surprising, but I’ll take it. I love it. Racing out here is always fun and I think everybody was dreading this race a little bit just because of the cold, but I don’t know. It was fun and it’s always great to have the girls out here racing no matter what the temperature.”
Race action
The field started off the line on pavement covered with patches of packed snow. Peterson led the way into an almost immediate left-hand turn.
“I got the hole shot which was great, which I was kind of surprised at. I think everybody was a little scared with the ice on the pavement,” she said after the race. “I had a great line from the start that was a little bit drier than I think some of the others…”
Boulder Reservoir under snow and frost
The circuit traced the edges of a field then exited onto slippery rising pavement before curving onto frozen ground and a collection of turns.
Concerns about safety were well placed. Many crashes occurred throughout the day’s racing on one particular off-camber turn. A member of the medical crew attempted to de-ice it by roughing up the ground with her boots.
Peterson later described the course as a mix of icy corners and tacky straight-ways. She seemed to thrive on the diverse conditions. “It was kind of fun having the difference between some parts of the course that were really fun and some places you were like ‘Ah!’ a little sketched out,” she said.
The circuit carried the field down to the edge of a reservoir completely covered with hoarfrost. By the time Peterson climbed up from the beach on frozen sand she had accumulated a lead of over ten seconds half-way into lap one. She later attributed her early gap to the freedom of first on course. “Being on the front in this kind of stuff is really beneficial…I think that’s where I got a lot of time on the first lap was just being able to ride my own style and my own pace.”
Weber and Barker appeared next on course. After a small gap Jess D’Amato (Evol Foods) paced a large group that included Hogan and Boni. Freeman rode in twelfth place.
Jess D’Amato leads a group away from the reservoir beach
The ladies entered another section of turns on snow layered over packed sand. That led to the course’s only planned dismount, the boathouse stairs, and then a concrete ramp back onto the sand.
Boni and Hogan joined Weber in pursuit of the leader by lap three while Barker fell back to the next group with Mina Anderberg (Team FUJI), Laurel Rathbun (Exergy Twenty16), and D’Amato. Freeman kept on in twelfth as four laps remained.
Hogan recognized she felt confident in the dicey conditions and used that to move into second in lap four, distancing herself from Weber. Boni now chased Weber and the several bike lengths between them. Peterson’s lead was now twenty-five seconds.
The following lap Hogan still held second on course. However Weber kept her on a short leash.
Another lap later and the situation up front was unchanged, but a larger group had consolidated behind Boni. It included Barker, Katie Clouse (Canyon Bicycles), D’Amato, Rathbun, and Ann Trombley (Tokyo Joe’s). Feedback Sports rider Emma Dunn trailed them. As the race went on and more sweat seeped through clothing, crystalline white lines grew thicker on arms and legs. Frost gathered on hair and lengthened into icicles on faces.
Kristal Boni, right, placed third
With two laps to go Freeman moved up several spots. Hogan, later citing a loss of focus, lost her advantage on Weber and provided an assist to Boni who gained speed in the final two laps.
“I made a couple of mental mistakes to let them back in or even in the last lap in a corner right in the beginning I went down and they caught right back up to me,” Hogan explained. “And then Kristal was encouraged…”
Hogan’s strength in wintry conditions – she won a snowy Frisco Cross earlier in the season – helped her retain second on the line. Boni followed four seconds later for third. Weber got fourth. Clouse snared fifth ahead of Barker and Rathbun. Freeman emerged for eighth which secured her second place overall in the series.
Weber expressed gratitude about coming out on top of the series. “I didn’t have an epic race today by any means, but yea I’m really excited,” she said. “You gotta have the good skills on a day like today and I got lucky. A little bit of luck – it’s always good in a cross race.”
When Peterson arrived at the finish, her face radiated an indoor shade of pink. “I think I had the right layering on. Nothing went too numb,” she said, except for her hands in lap two. “But you always know they’ll come back eventually.” And during the race, they did recover.
“I’m nice and toasty now,” she added. “Everything’s nice and warm. I could keep going.”
For full results from Cyclo-X Boulder Reservoir see the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado’s website.
Find the overall series standings at Without Limits Productions.
2013 Cyclo-X women’s elite series overall top 5 (l – r): Melissa Barker 4th, Judy Freeman 2nd, Kristin Weber 1st, Kristal Boni 3rd, Kristen Peterson 5th
Gallery
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- Junior Katie Clouse, right, takes fifth place ahead of Melissa Barker
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- Steady Emma Dunn, right, finished ninth
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- Karen Hogan in second trying to stretch out a lead over Kristin Weber
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- Ksenia Lepikhina’s braids were a magnet for frost
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- Scratching ice from a sketchy corner
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- Kristin Peterson greets teammate Jess D’Amato post-race
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- Emily Zinn & Tracy Yates (r – l)
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- Katie Clouse
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- Kristen Peterson’s extra warmth
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- Kristin Weber won the overall 2013 Cyclo-X series
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- Announcer Larry Grossman’s warming table
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- Laurel Rathbun, Jess D’Amato, Ann Trombley (r – l)
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- Lauren Costantini, 35+ winner
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- Mina Anderberg
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- Ann Trombley tossed away her gloves during the race
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- Ladies’ elite prizes for Boulder Reservoir race
Some cyclists are particular about their socks. One guy likes to wear a new pair before a time trial; another can’t race in the pair he warmed-up in.
Some cyclists choose a certain orange and blue pair to remember Amy Dombroski and support the foundation established in her name.
Colorado venues are the scenes for these photos.
To order a pair of socks or donate, visit the Amy D. Foundation store online, which also hosts a gallery of photos from Amy’s life.
Robin Eckmann checks on chase group two at Cyclo-X Westminster
[updated 11/29/2013]
To chase or be chased. Which is a better position in a cyclocross race, hunting down a quarry or glancing over your shoulder and feeling hunted?
A target ahead can act as a goal and provide focus. Others, like Danny Summerhill, prefer attacking an open track to avoid getting taking down in a crash by riders ahead and to choose the best lines.
On Saturday at Cyclo-X Westminster Chris Baddick (Gear Movement) was Robin Eckmann’s target. Listening to Baddick explain how he became the hunted one, he sounded like a reluctant leader.
“I felt like I happened to come to the front by accident. Everyone was slowing down on the pavement and I just ended up at the front of the group,” Baddick said, speaking about the early part of the race.
Chris Baddick wins Cyclo-X Westminster
“And so I just decided to go for it and see what happened, see who would go with me because I wanted to get the group a bit smaller. But then no one came with me so again I just went for it. It was kind of a difficult way to win.”
Stay off the front alone consumes a rider’s resources. When it’s blustery – more often than not on the Front Range, it’s easier to sit in with a small group and keep your nose out of the wind.
Chasing singlehandedly takes a lot of energy too and not just physically. More tactics come into play, like deciding how long to keep working with other riders and whether to strike out solo.
When Baddick attained a gap out front half-way through the race a group of three chased him: Eckmann (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) and Evol Foods riders Ken Benesh and Spencer Powlison.
Initially Eckmann waited to see if Powlison and Benesh would work together as teammates to bridge up to Baddick.
But the gap to the leader widened over three laps. With just over two to go Eckmann chose to go alone after Baddick. He shaved some seconds off the Gear Movement rider’s advantage, inching closer in the bell lap, but didn’t make contact. Eckmann crossed the line second with enough points to maintain his lead in the Cyclo-X series.
What was it like chasing the “new ‘cross sheriff” Baddick?
“It was definitely hard. Cyclocross is more of a sport for me to get in shape for the road,” Eckmann said while waiting for the podium. “I think that was the perfect practice for that. It almost felt like a time trial a little bit, so it’s definitely good.”
Race action
The initial four of nine laps proceeded at an easy pace for the strongest in the field. Baddick came through with the holeshot. Two minutes later Eckmann sprang ahead of him on the double set of concrete stairs.
Robin Eckmann leading in lap 1 on one of several paved sections
In the front group of about a dozen riders Benesh and Maxx Chance (Clif Bar Devo) swapped out the lead position with Baddick and Eckmann as the guys seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
“There was a pretty large group so everybody was like we’ll just wait until the time makes it harder, just by the length of the race,” Eckmann later said. “So lap by lap it got a little bit faster and then we started dropping guys left and right and then the race got kind of a structure.”
Evol Foods’ Powlison and Josh Whitney, Chris Case and Pete Webber of Boulder Cycle Sport, Gage Hecht (Specialized Racing Team), Ian McPherson and Garrett Gerchar of Clif Bar Devo, Bryan Alders (Marin Bikes Factory Team), Steven Stefko (First City), and Greg Krause (Groove Subaru/Excel Sports) rounded out the early front group.
Structure began to appear when Baddick took off in the fifth lap. Eckmann, Powlison, and Benesh formed a chase group that set off after the Gear Movement man. Chance shadowed them in fourth position with Stefko in fifth.
Maxx Chance makes it down the grassy descent upright
Sometime mid-race Hecht slid out on the long grassy downhill which claimed additional victims and would shake up the podium with one lap to go. Early in the race, Eckmann switched bikes for a rear tire with better grip on the slippery grass.
When Eckmann pulled away from the chase group about fifteen minutes remained for him to catch Baddick.
The Cal Giant rider collected seconds between himself and the chasing Evol riders and began to dissolve the ones that kept him from reaching the leader. Baddick knew his pursuer was making progress.
“I was dying towards the end. I know if the race was a lap longer then I wouldn’t have held on anymore,” Baddick said. What did it feel like to be chased? As he caught his breath after the win, Baddick replied, “I was definitely riding scared. I was making some mistakes in the last lap. I ran into course tape with about three corners to go.”
Benesh and Powlison ran into problems of their own. With about one lap to go both fell to the wet grass on the long descent. Chance took advantage and swept by them, taking third place at the finish.
Powlison followed six seconds later for fourth. Stefko claimed fifth ahead of Benesh who had been further delayed by a dropped chain after the sliding out on the grass.
Eckmann continues to lead the eight-race Cyclo-X points series which concludes on December 7 with double points on offer at the Boulder Reservoir venue.
For full results from Cyclo-X Westminster see the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado’s website.
Cyclo-X Westminster men’s elite podium (l-r) Spencer Powlison 4th, Maxx Chance 3rd, Chris Baddick 1st, Robin Eckmann 2nd, Steven Stefko 5th
Gallery
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- Ian McPherson follows Chris Case
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- Chris Baddick then Spencer Powlison through the holeshot
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- Riders scaled two sections of a concrete stairscase
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- Single Speed race: Jesse Swift (right) takes the outside line
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- Steven Stefko in one of the Cyclo-X Westminster technical sections
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- Greg Krause (center) behind Josh Whitney on the first turn
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- Ken Benesh, leader of the CO Cross Cup, at the front of a group on the stairs
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- Chris Baddick: “my best ever movember attempt”
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- Ian McPherson (right) at Cyclo-X Westminster
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- Gage Hecht finished 10th after a grassy slide
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- Colby Pearce (left) riding with Garrett Gerchar
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- Chris Baddick was “riding scared” with 1 to go
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- Greg Krause finished 7th at Westminster
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- Spencer Powlison fourth overall in the Cyclo-X series
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- Maxx Chance happy with third
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- Bryan Alders came in 11th at Cyclo-X Westminster
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- Cyclo-X Westminster SM 35+ podium (l-r) Thomas Spannring 3rd, Michael Robson 1st, Eric Collins 2nd
ProVéloPassion 